Deal?
by ReversedSam
Summary: Fluff fic. Femslash: Not your thing? Keep scrolling.


**Some random Sky channel has been showing repeats of SVU, a show I'd never watched before, I'm left wondering why, since Casey and Olivia kinda make me swoon. And apparently late night repeat watching and not sleeping lead to C/O fluff. **

**Disclaimers: They're not mine, but I promise I'll put 'em back where I found them.**

**A/N: All mistakes and British spellings are mine.**

* * *

**Deal?**

Casey Novak was about two drinks away from drunk. She was pissed off. After a monumentally bad day at work, she'd decided she needed a drink. It might help take her mind of Olivia. They'd argued again today and she shivered at just the thought of it, angry Olivia was one of the sexiest things imaginable. She was just about to order another drink when she heard a voice behind her.

"You should know better Counsellor."

Spinning on her bar stool she came face-to-face with one of New York's finest, detective Olivia Benson. "What do you want?" Casey cursed herself for coming to the squads usual bar. She wasn't in the mood for whatever this was. All she wanted was another drink, and probably another after that. Olivia was the last person she wanted to see.

"To make sure you get home okay. You, of all people know how unsafe it is to be drunk and alone in this city."

Casey scoffed. "I'm a big girl detective, and when last I checked, you weren't my mother. So leave me the hell alone."

Reasoning wasn't going to work, not when Casey was in this mood. So, Olivia figured she'd go with plan B. "I'm trying to help you here. But if you want to be a bitch, fine. I'll haul your ass in for drunk and disorderly."

"You wouldn't dare." The incredulity was clear in both Casey's voice, and her face.

"Try me." Olivia raised an eyebrow and waited, hoping Casey didn't call her bluff. She had no intention of arresting the ADA, but she wasn't leaving her until she knew she was safe.

Casey stared, her gaze never faltering, and decided Olivia just might be serious, that wasn't a chance she was willing to take. Defeat was inevitable, but maybe she could cut herself a deal.

"Have one drink with me, and then I'll go home."

"One drink...a coffee, and then I take you home."

Casey laughed. "A counter offer? You've been spending too much time with me, detective."

"Deal?"

"Deal." Casey nodded; she ordered two coffees as Olivia took a seat next to her. "I know you wouldn't have arrested me, would you?"

"Absolutely." Olivia lied. "At least I'd know you were safe."

"Always the cop, Liv. Frankly, I didn't think you cared that much."

"Of course I care." Was the immediate reply. "And being a cop has nothing to do with it."

"No?" Casey raised an eyebrow, surely Olivia was just being nice, she sure as hell never gave any indication she cared beyond her unshakeable sense of duty.

"You're my friend, Casey. I want you safe."

"We're not friends Liv, we see each other at work, we argue, a lot. You and Elliot? You're friends. You and me? We're colleagues. If something happened to me, you'd care because you're a good cop, because you'd feel some misplaced sense of responsibility. Not because you're my friend." The look of hurt that crossed Liv's face made Casey feel guilty, although she didn't know why, she was just being truthful. And it wasn't as though she didn't want to be friends with the detective, she did. Fact was, she wanted much more than that. That was the problem.

Olivia knew what Casey was saying was true; they didn't spend any time together as friends. But there was no doubt she cared, she cared a little more than she should about Casey, but she wasn't willing to let herself make the same mistake again. She'd been here before, with Alex, and it had all been for nothing, she'd ended up hurt. So keeping her distance was safest all around. But seeing Casey like this, obviously hurting, she had to do something.

"It may seem that way, but you're wrong, if anything happened to you, I'd care, because I care about you, not because I'm a cop." She didn't give Casey time to respond to her statement. "You don't have to drink yourself stupid every time a case gets to you."

"And how else do you suggest I deal with it detective?"

"You could talk to me about it. Maybe we can work on that friendship thing? At the very least I could help take your mind of it for a while."

Casey found herself laughing again. Olivia's offer was sweet, it really was. But it only made her feel worse. "The trouble there, detective, is that most of the time, including tonight, I don't come here to take my mind of a case. I come here to take my mind off you."

"Me?" Olivia was shocked, sure they might argue, but it wasn't bad enough to warrant this.

"Yes, you."

"You don't think this is a bit extreme? Arguing with me affects you this much?"

Shaking her head, Casey smiled. _She has no clue_. "It's not about the arguments, Liv, I argue for a living, arguments I can deal with."

Olivia was seconds away from ordering herself a drink. She was confused. Maybe it was the alcohol talking because Casey wasn't making much sense. "Then what it is about?"

Casey bit her lip, she knew she should keep her mouth shut, she'd said more than enough already. She should limit talking to a minimum from now on, lest she get herself into more trouble than she already was. Being drunk around Olivia was a bad, bad idea. Especially when she was offering to help take her mind off things. Trouble was, right at this moment, fuelled by alcohol induced courage, she couldn't bring herself to care how much of a bad idea it was.

"Come on Case, enlightened me."

Casey's heart was hammering in her chest. This was one of those 'now or never' moments, and 'never' didn't appeal, so she took a deep breath and did as Olivia asked.

"This isn't about the arguments Liv. It's about me trying to forget the hundreds of completely inappropriate thoughts I have about you every time I see you."

She watched Olivia's eyes widen in shock and knew she'd said enough. Even in this situation it was amusing, slightly, since she'd never seen Olivia so clearly speechless. But having decided she didn't want to stick around for the inevitable awkward conversation, the 'gentle' let down she knew was coming, Casey stood up and headed for the door.

* * * * * *

Olivia sat motionless on the bar stool, looking at the now empty seat in front of her. She was stunned; Casey Novak had just told her she had inappropriate thought about her - hundreds of them - every time she saw her.

_Holy fucking shit. _

Casey's words echoed in her head, there was no way to misinterpret what she'd heard. She'd waited months for any sign the ADA was interested, so it seemed, her skills at detection were now seriously in doubt. As the fog cleared she realised she should go after Casey. She was outside the bar in seconds, scanning the street. A few minutes past and she sighed in defeat. She headed back to her car with a million thoughts running through her mind. Once there, she sat, trying to figure out what to do.

Should she ignore Casey's confession, put it down to her being drunk? Should she wait until tomorrow and try to talk to her? No, screw that. She needed to see Casey. She was going over there now.

* * * * * *

"I don't drink, I run." Olivia said as Casey opened her apartment door.

"What..." Olivia walked into the apartment, smirking, Casey's confused face was adorable.

"I don't drink, I run. When I need to clear my head, or when I'm trying to forget something. I run."

Casey didn't respond, truth was she didn't know what to say. Now the alcohol was wearing off, the mortification was setting in. She couldn't believe what she'd done.

"Lately I've been running almost every day." Olivia took a deep breath. This was it, no backing out now. "I need to do something to keep my mind off you."

Casey felt her knees going weak, she couldn't believe what Liv was saying, surely she was hearing things. The thought of Olivia returning her feelings filled her with so many emotions. But there was still a nagging doubt, despite her shy confession; Olivia could mean anything with that statement. So Casey clamped down on her excitement, at least until there were no doubts.

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long.

"I'd like to amend our earlier deal, we'll forget about you not actually keeping to it." Olivia teased; she hoped Casey got what she was saying; she didn't want to spell it out, she wasn't sure she'd have the courage. Casey's answering smile made her heart rate double. Those dimples were far too sexy. "One drink...a coffee, and then I take you to dinner…." Holding out her hand Olivia took a deep breath. "…Deal?" This was it; she was finally taking a chance. Casey could easily turn her down, leaving her hurt all over again. Her hand was shaking by the time Casey stepped closer and laced their fingers together.

Casey could have jumped for joy, ran around her apartment making a complete ass of herself, instead, having decided she'd done enough of that for one day she simply smiled. "Deal."

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**Thanks for reading.**


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